


A Valentine for Everyone

by Tsukino_Akume



Category: Power Rangers
Genre: F/F, F/M, M/M, Multi, Valentine's Day
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-02-16
Updated: 2014-02-16
Packaged: 2018-01-12 14:58:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 9,841
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1189425
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tsukino_Akume/pseuds/Tsukino_Akume
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A one-shot series of various Power Ranger couples attempting to celebrate Valentine's Day.  Emphasis on *attempt*.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Rocky/Adam

**Author's Note:**

> I had this brilliant idea one day. I wanted to write a sappy, romantic Valentine's Day fic, but I couldn't decide who I wanted to write about. Somehow, that turned into writing about all the couples in the Power Rangers series that I've ever thought of and/or liked. 
> 
> That's why you'll see a few people in here more than once. Being that this is mostly for the couples *I* like, you won't see a few of the cannon or generally popular couples, unless I manage to get an idea from somewhere. It's also a bad excuse for me to combine sappy romance, bad humor, and angst into one fic. Ironically, I'm not usually a fan of holidays, let alone holiday fics, so expect to see more humor than romance. I am also open to requests for pairings I haven't posted yet and/or plot requests, so feel free to suggest some.
> 
> Lots of love to anyone who remembers this story from when I first posted it on Fanfiction.net years ago. ♥
> 
> On that note, enjoy! ^_^V

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These stuffed animals actually do exist. The gorilla is on Hallmark.com, while my roommate fell in love with the frog sitting on a shelf in a grocery store a couple years ago. And if anyone would like to draw a picture Aisha's snapshot at the end of this, I will love you forever. I may even offer bribes.

Adam regarded his Valentine's Day present with a sort of wry amusement. "You just couldn't resist the giant stuffed frog, could you?"

"This is awesome!" Rocky laughed, ignoring him. He pressed the button again, grinning in delight as the gorilla bearing a red heart with ribbon streamers on stick once again began to belt out _'Can't Get Enough of Your Love, Babe'_ in the voice of Barry White. "He's too perfect! You really outdid yourself this year, Adam."

Adam snorted in amusement, still staring at the green frog stretched out on its stomach as it clutched a giant red heart that said 'Be Mine'. The frog itself was big enough for him to hide behind if he'd tried to hug it. "Touché."

It was a strange tradition that they couldn't really remember when it began; sometime in elementary school maybe. It had started with one of them - most likely Rocky - trying to give the other the cheesiest, most badly decorated Valentine's Day card he could find. Naturally, retaliation had followed the next year with something even worse. And thus, the tradition of giving one another the most awful Valentine's Day gifts ever began.

They were fiercely competitive about the whole thing, even if there was no real winner or loser. It didn't matter; that was just how the game was played. While Aisha knew about it, she was more inclined to just shake her head and tell them they were weird. That is she had, until the year Rocky had dragged her into it by convincing her to take pictures of the year's spoils and make a scrapbook out of them. Now she still called them weird, but it was with a certain fondness as she added the newest snapshots to the collection.

It had started out with cards, and then the occasional strange box of chocolates. As the years passed by and Rocky had finally worked up the courage to ask Adam out, it had somehow turned into a competition almost entirely of stuffed animals. Adam had a tendency to give the singing types, while Rocky favored the giant obnoxious eyesores.

Their fellow Rangers couldn't understand the sudden glee that came over Rocky after the December holidays were over, when he began scouting stores for Valentine's Day gifts. Or the way Adam would look Rocky every once in awhile with an almost malicious gleam in his eyes. Aisha had advised them not to ask; it caused fewer headaches that way.

This year, much to Aisha's both amusement and dismay, both boys had gone for a spirit animal theme; their time as Rangers had begun to influence them in more than just clothing. But then, she mused to herself as she watched Rocky giggle at his monkey and Adam's faint smile at his frog, that really wasn't so horrible.

"Okay, guys. You ready for this year's photo?" she called, holding up the Polaroid camera.

"You bet!" Rocky called cheerfully, bouncing to his feet.

Adam sighed as he stood up. "Do we really have to do this?"

"Of course we do," Rocky scolded. "Come on, Adam! It's tradition!"

Adam shook his head with a sigh, clearly fighting a smile. "Far be it from me to ruin tradition."

Tradition, Aisha decided as she waved her photo around to dry it and Adam tried to fight off Rocky, who was playfully trying to suck on his neck, wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

The picture cleared, and they crowded on either side of her to see it.

Adam was hugging the giant frog, pushing it slightly to his right as he peered around it with an amused expression. Rocky had wrapped his arms around him from behind, grinning as he proudly thrust out the gorilla before them with one hand. His chin rested on the one of Adam's shoulders that wasn't hidden by frog.

No. Traditions - even bizarre, strange, and pointless ones - weren't bad at all.


	2. Andros/Ashley/Zhane

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a request written for Starlit Purple, who now has the honor of forcing me to write my first threesome. I hope you like it, sweetie. -Winks-
> 
> -Coughs- The Tangarian Lover's Bands are actually the 'friendship bands' Sky and Dru have in SPD, which I can no longer look at the same way thanks to Starhawk and an icon that has Dru calling them 'Tangarian Wedding Bands'.

It was sort of ironic in retrospect, Ashley thought to herself as Zhane set out yet another stuffed animal on the table. Andros was the first Kerovian she ever met, so she'd just sort of assumed that all of the people from KO-35 were well, like Andros. Quiet, reserved, self-sacrificing crowd-haters.

She winced internally. It was mean to not only stereotype his people like that, but Andros himself. She knew him better now, knew he was sweet and caring, that he was shy and uncertain because he wasn't always quite sure how to handle different social situations. He really wasn't like that at all, no matter how closed-off he'd been at first.

But more importantly, Andros was *not* the Kerovian standard - Zhane was.

From what they'd explained to her, Kerovians *loved* parties, and jumped at any chance to celebrate. There were ten Kerovian festivals that she knew of so far, each one lasting for several days. The longest was the fourteen day Ranger festival, but even the 'Day of' festivals always lasted longer than the actual scheduled event.

Which is why she really should have given more thought about what she was getting herself into when she told them about Valentine's Day on Earth.

Zhane had thrown himself into the idea with a certain gusto he usually reserved for fighting evil. After days of being mysteriously absent while Andros would shift around uncomfortably and tell her he was 'busy', Zhane woke her at 7:00 in the morning (Earth Pacific Standard Time, according to D.E.C.A.) with a rather ... enthusiastic kiss, and hands in a place that would have gotten her up no matter how tired she was. He'd silenced her grumbles with another kiss, ignored her complaints about waiting until she got rid of her morning breath, and promptly dragged her up to the Observation Deck still wearing her pajamas. Andros had greeted her with a guilty but sympathetic look, offering a kiss and holding her close while Zhane proceeded to bring out every Valentine's Day gift known to man.

The Observation Deck was covered in pink and red streamers, heart-shaped chains, and bright banners proclaiming _'Happy Valentine's Day!'_. Flowers of every size, shape, color, and planet were everywhere, many she'd never even seen before. There were stuffed animals, some that sang, some holding hearts, some carrying roses. Valentine's candy was all over the place, from boxes of chocolates, to Sweethearts, to the strawberry-flavored, heart-shaped Peeps she secretly loved.

Even her boyfriends had dressed for the occasion. Zhane wore a white T-shirt bearing a dreamy-eyed frog over a heart, surrounded by the words _'Toadally Yours'_ , and had somehow tied several tiny red and pink ribbons in his hair. Andros, in contrast, had been given a white shirt that proclaimed _'Happy Valentine's Day! Now get out of my face'_ , which he tried to hide under his red dress shirt. Zhane had apparently manged to con him into allowing his hair to be pulled into a single braid with red and pink ribbons running through it.

She fidgeted, feeling more than slightly underdressed for the occasion in her tiny tank top and shorts.

"Presents!" Zhane declared at last, giving them both such a bright smile she couldn't help but smile back.

And presents there were. Some that made her laugh, like the boxes of chocolate chip cookies he'd given Andros, prompting her to scold him for encouraging Andros' almost fanatical love of cookies. Ones that made her stare in confusion (What in the world were they going to use a nickle-plated yoyo for?), or exchange raised eyebrows with Andros as Zhane protested that they were ganging up on him again (Why would Zhane want a game called Table Topics: Girl's Night Out Conversation Cards, and why did it still seem so entirely ... Zhane ... that he did?). There was were spa sets for her feet, hair, bath, and any other part of her that could possibly be spoiled, and Zhane promptly informed her that it was his duty as her boyfriend to pamper her. Which, he'd added, Andros could stand to make some improvement in.

It was hard to break up a brawl, no matter how playful, when she couldn't stop laughing over the expression that had come over Andros' face after he said it.

When they finally calmed down enough to talk again, she leaned on Zhane as they each presented her with jewelry, which Andros told her T.J. had insisted was the surest way to a woman's heart (She and T.J. would be having words later.). From Zhane, a silver necklace bearing two hearts, the first inscribed _'Heart of my heart'_ in delicate script, and three silver bands for each of their wrists with runes for Red, Yellow, and Silver carved into them. She cried when he explained they were Tangarian Lover's Bands. The gifts from Andros were similar, but no less special: a gold bracelet with butterfly and heart charms attached, and another silver necklace, this time with two rings strung on it, one engraved _'Forever'_ , the other _'Ever'_.

She sniffled as she slipped both necklaces over her head, wiping at her eyes. She'd gone into space feeling frightened and hurt, and desperately hoping for a way to save her planet. She never expected to find the Megaship, become an Astro Ranger, or meet the two most incredible, amazing men in her life.

She giggled when they leaned in from either side to kiss her cheek, looking up with a warm smile as she wrapped an arm around each of them. Expected or not, she'd never felt as loved as she did in this moment, surrounded by her boys.


	3. Eric/Wes

He kept meaning to say something. Really, he did. He didn't forget, or anything. But he never got the chance.

The moment he walked into work there was an attempted robbery. He was barely able to get in a good morning as they jumped into the SUV, getting a brief nod in response. The hold up lasted three hours, followed by another hour reassuring the bank owner that he had nothing to worry about, that this would not happen again, that he had no reason to question the Silver Guardians' security. Which of course, everyone else delegated to *him* because he was the most diplomatic of the two of them. He thought he might have gotten an apologetic glance before the squad went to clean-up duty, but it was hard to be sure with the man raving in his face.

They'd just gotten back when they received word that one of their customer's security alarms had gone off. It turned out to be nothing, but the owner of the building still insisted they check *everything* to be absolutely sure. That had taken them the better part of another hour.

After that, he'd been buried in paperwork, intermittent with more meetings than he would ever be able to remember anything from by the end of the day. And of course, there was that last minute meeting that went into after hours. Then there was paperwork he still hadn't finished and tried to stay behind to work on, until the receptionist threatened to have them both thrown out of the building as she accused them of being workaholics.

They looked at one another at last, both feeling tired and weary. "Still coming over?" Eric asked finally.

His brow furrowed for a moment. Did they make plans or something? "Sure," he answered at last, deciding it didn't really matter.

Eric nodded, heading to his car. "I'll drive."

The car ride started with him sitting up, watching the scenery. Slowly, as his exhaustion grew, he found himself leaning against the door with his head resting against the window. But that proved to be uncomfortable, so he shifted to the other side. He smiled, watching Eric fight off a yawn as he drove. 

The next thing he knew, he was blinking up at the steering wheel. "Hmm?"

"Comfortable?" Eric sounded entirely too amused.

He frowned, blinking as he tried to get his bearings. After a moment, it dawned on him: at some point, he'd dozed off and let his head fall into Eric's lap. Eric's fingers had come up to play almost idly with his hair, moving to brush his cheek. It *was* comfortable, he decided. Too comfortable to move. "Mmm," he agreed at last.

Eric chuckled. "So the next time I want to get into your pants without beating the crap out of each other, all I have to do is work you into exhaustion."

"Mmm ... " he yawned, snuggling slightly into his hand. There was something he'd been trying to tell him ... Oh. Right. "S'Valentine's Day," he murmured.

"Too tired to care." The hand continued to caress his cheek. "Besides, I don't need some stupid day on a calendar to remind me that I love you."

He blinked, then slowly smiled. Eric would never be the conventional romantic. But then, that was part of what made things between them work so well.

He turned his head to press a light kiss against Eric's hand. "Love you, too."


	4. Hunter/Cam

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's official; I can no longer stop associating M&M's with Ninja Storm. They just *work* damn it. >.

It all started with a bag of green M&M's.

"That had better not be what I think it is." 

"Come on ... 'Green is the new color of love.'" 

"You have a death wish, don't you."

"You can't fight the power of the M&M."

A long silence.

"What did you eat for dinner? You haven't had any recent run-ins with Lothor, have you?"

"Oh, very funny."

"I'm serious."

"So was I. Is it so wrong to try and do something romantic for my boyfriend?"

More silence.

" ... We're dating?"

"Okay, that's *really* not funny."

"What ... when did this happen?!"

"Oh, I don't know. About the time I asked you to go to the movies with me? Or how about the time I took you out to dinner? Or ice cream? Or - "

"I *get it*." A pause. "Why didn't you just ask me straight out?"

An exasperated look. "What exactly did you think 'hey, you wanna go see a movie sometime' meant? Especially when the rest of the team wasn't there?"

"What's wrong with just asking me to be your boyfriend?"

"Okay, fine! Cam, will you be my boyfriend?"

Another lengthy silence.

"I suppose."

Rolled eyes. "Was that seriously so hard?"

An annoyed glance. "I prefer it when people are direct."

This time the stare lasted for nearly a full minute.

"You are the most oblivious smart guy I've ever met, you know that?"

Shoulders stiffened, and deliberately turned away.

"Are you ignoring me now?"

Silence.

"Oh, for the love of - " Hands thrown in the air air at last, and a bag of entirely green M&M's dropped beside a keyboard. "Happy friggin' Valentine's Day!"

It was nearly an hour after the other had stormed out before the bag was finally studied. After a moment, a hand slowly reached out to take them, tearing the package open. A single, green M&M was removed and eaten slowly, savoring the chocolate flavor.

The bag was empty before training the next morning, and no amount of smug, absurdly pleased looks could convince the culprit to admit to accepting them.


	5. Jason/Tommy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, there are such things as Power Rangers Dino Thunder valentines (or at least there were up through last year), and yes, this is exactly what it says and looks like.

He stared. He could not believe this. Of all the things he was expecting to get in the mail today, this was ... was .... He wasn't sure whether to be amused or just down-right insulted. Currently, he was leaning towards insulted.

"We make a great team, friend," he read aloud, staring at the horrible artwork. He blinked again, at last muttering "I don't believe you, Jason," as he glared at the offending valentine.

His phone rang, and he answered it without bothering to check the caller id. "You have a twisted sense of humor, you know that?"

There was a deep chuckle in response. _"What's the matter? Don't you like it?"_

He glared at the phone. "It's a Dino Thunder Rangers Valentine, Jason. It's disturbing and wrong, and you're evil."

Jason laughed. _"What can I say? I thought of you the moment I saw it."_

"You've never even seen me in uniform," he retorted, eyeing the card in distaste. "How did they get the Black Ranger out so fast?"

_"I'm working on it."_

He was too busy analyzing the card to notice the smug tone of his voice. "My abs do *not* look like that, in *or* out of uniform. It looks like I'm on steroids!"

This time, the chuckle came from behind him. 

He spun around, nearly dropping the phone in surprise. "Jase?" he gasped.

The smile on his face was warm as his eyes twinkled. "Surprise," he murmured.

He launched himself at his boyfriend, hugging him tightly. "I don't believe this! How did you - " He paused, eyes narrowing, and punched him hard in the arm. "How long were you standing there?" he demanded.

"Ow!" Jason winced, holding his arm as he watched Tommy in amusement. "Hey, watch it. Non-Ranger, remember?"

Tommy winced too, rubbing the arm in apology. "Why didn't you tell me you were coming?" he asked, moving in closer to hold on to him again.

Arms came around him, warm and reassuring as Jason leaned forward. "That would kind of take out the meaning of 'surprise', wouldn't it?" He kissed him to silence the coming protest.

Tommy nearly purred in response. Man, this was nice. With the chaos of everything that had been going on lately, Jason was exactly what he needed to center himself again.

The kiss was intense, but sweet, much like things between them had always been. It wasn't the battle for dominance that their friends had always seemed to think they needed. It wasn't quite one surrendering to the other, either. It was an exchange of thoughts, feelings, and physical sensation. It was more than either of them would ever be able to put in words, but they understood it perfectly.

They broke apart at last, both slightly breathless. "Mmm," Jason murmured in satisfaction. "Hi."

Tommy smiled in spite of himself, leaning his forehead against Jason's. "Yeah," he sighed. "Missed you, too."


	6. Blake/Tori

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think I've developed a fetish for torturing Blake when it comes to romance. I blame it all on the I Love Lothor episode.

"Maybe planned romance just isn't your thing." 

" ... You think?"

They stared at the remains of the table in front of them. Originally the tiny, circular table had been covered with a beautiful lace tablecloth in a shade of pale blue he'd probably never be able to find again in his life. The place settings hadn't been china, but the simple white plastic plates and clear silverware looked elegant enough. And in the center, a vase full of specially ordered blue-tinted roses, with white candles on either side carefully placed in tall, faux crystal holders.

Now only a rough three-quarters of the the tablecloth remained, with a large black crescent to show at what point the fire had finally gone out. The table itself was charred, and the all the plates and silverware had partially melted. The roses had found themselves 'dried' faster than the way either of them would have preferred, and were now blacker than even the tablecloth. The candles had left wax on everything, and the whole disaster was both soaking wet and covered in white foam from the fire extinguisher.

Blake bit down on his lower lip to keep it from trembling as he fought desperately not to cry.

This was the first Valentine's Day he'd ever spent with a real girlfriend, let alone one he adored as much as Tori, so he wanted to make it special for her. He'd come up with an entire grand scheme to sweep her off her feet: 'The Fourteen Days of Valentine's'. Rather than spending just a single day to tell her how much he lo - cared about her, he'd give her all the days leading up to Valentine's, beginning on the first of the month. He'd made plans, hoarded paychecks as well as he could, and carefully thought out each detail.

It was all downhill from there.

On the first day of the month, he sent her a traditional Valentine's Day card through the mail. Somehow between the mailbox and her house, it had been thoroughly soaked to the point that all the ink ran. Even he couldn't read the message now.

The second day he'd sent candy. No one had ever bothered to tell him she was allergic to nuts. Which meant a very large, very useless box of chocolates that she couldn't eat. Dustin and Hunter were thrilled when she finally left them at Storm Chargers.

Day Three, the roses were send to the wrong address. 

On Day Four, the soft, white teddy bear clutching a red satin heart bearing the words 'Be Mine' was set flying into a mud puddle when Shane and Dustin had been roughhousing a little too close for comfort. 

Day Five he learned that she hated chocolates with any sort of fruit filling - he'd nearly punched Dustin and Shane for the muffled cheer he heard coming from the store room. 

He tried to make up for it on Day Six with a large box of fudge truffles, but Dustin saw them sitting out on the counter yet again while he was working, and happily helped himself. 

The second teddy bear for Day Seven, this time brown with big, sad eyes and a rose in one paw, had been shredded - literally - in a battle with some Kelzaks. 

For Day Eight, the second attempt at flowers were somehow mangled during the delivery until they had hardly any petals left. 

Day Nine he'd almost been arrested for the brawl he'd gotten into with the florist over both yesterday's flowers and the ones he'd tried to get for that day - Hunter had lectured him on that one for hours, the hypocrite. 

Then there was the little girl he'd met on Day Ten who'd broken her arm roller skating. She was frantic and in tears, so he'd given her the newest teddy bear attempt to try and calm her, telling her it was big enough to hug her back when she felt sad. 

For Day Eleven he'd gotten serious, choosing a delicate silver ring with a tiny blue topaz heart to give her. Kelly happened to see him fussing with the ring box and had gently informed him that four months of dating was a little soon for giving rings, and that a ring wasn't the best choice for a surfer to begin with. 

By Day Twelve he was so frustrated he'd decided he didn't care if it was inappropriate or not; he was giving her the stupid ring anyway. He was ambushed by another group of Kelzaks when he left the jewelery store, and the chain he'd picked out to make sure she wouldn't lose it while she was surfing had been horribly mangled during the fight. And of course, the chain snapped when he tried to untangle it. 

Yesterday, Day Thirteen, he'd nearly been at the end of his rope ... and the nice, safe, simple e-card never made it to her e-mail address.

And now today, Day Fourteen, the 'official' day, he'd lit the tablecloth for their candlelit dinner on fire when he accidentally knocked over one of the candles.

"Blake ... ?" Tori asked tentatively, reaching out to carefully touch his arm.

He blinked rapidly, swallowing the scream that threatened to tear itself from his throat. "Yeah?"

"Why did you do all this? I mean, I appreciate it, but you didn't have to."

"Because it was better than the motocross tools?" He sighed, rubbing at his forehead. "I'm sorry. It's just ... I wanted to show you how much I ... care about you. Make you feel special for once, not just like one of the guys, you know?"

He debated, then decided he really didn't care anymore if it was the wrong thing to do or not. He dug into his pocket for a moment, pulled out the ring box, and just sort of shoved it at her. "Here. I ... I thought you might like it. If you don't ... " He tried to tell her not to feel guilty if she didn't want it, but he was too frustrated and upset to do it. Instead he sort of waved vaguely in her direction. "Just ... yeah."

There was a sudden soft gasp, and silence.

He closed his eyes and fought back a groan. This was officially, without a doubt, the worst Valentine's Day ever. Lothor should just send down a monster right now and put him out of his misery.

A hand gently brushed his jaw. "Blake?"

He opened an eye warily, afraid of what he'd see. "Yeah?"

Tori's smile was warm, and tears sparkled in her eyes as she reached out with her other hand to cup his face. The ring sparkled merrily on her left hand. "Next time, just get the motocross tools," she murmured, leaning in for a kiss.


	7. Z/Syd

Syd was fuming. It just wasn't fair, darn it. It wasn't. Here it was, the most romantic day of the whole year, and *she* was stuck in the break room with the guys while the one person who *should* be showering her with gifts was nowhere to be found.

"It's not fair," she muttered bitterly, crossing her arms with another humph as she sulked.

There was a long silence as the four boys exchanged glances. After a silent debate, Jack finally sighed. "What's not fair, Syd?" he asked, trying not to sound as annoyed and disinterested as he felt. 

Thankfully, Syd was too self - absorbed at the moment to notice. "It's Valentine's Day," she whined, pouting.

The group exchanged glances again. "It is?" Omega whispered.

"Of course it is," Bridge put in brightly, elbowing their teammate into silence before she heard him. "It's your favorite day of the year, Syd. Aren't you happy?"

Her lip quivered, and her eyes began to water. "No!" she burst out, sniffling and letting out a sob.

Sky and Jack both glared at Bridge in silent accusation. It was hard to tell through the helmet if the look Omega was giving him was actually a glare or not, but considering the circumstances, it was probably safe to assume it was. 

Bridge shrugged back helplessly, looking apologetic. 'Sorry?' he mouthed.

Sky moved to sit beside her, setting a hand on her shoulder. Silently bracing himself, he forced out "What's wrong?"

"There's supposed to be romance, and flowers, and presents, and candlelight dinners, and big stuffed animals, and ... and .... " She sniffled again, fighting back the urge to wail. "But she's not even *here*. How am I supposed to have a romantic Valentine's Day when I don't even have a valentine?!"

"I'm sure there's a reason Z isn't here," Sky soothed, rolling his eyes behind her head.

They all loved Syd, really they did. But her drama queen tendencies were a bit much at times. And quite frankly, none of them were nearly so interested in Valentine's Day to begin with. It was hard to be sympathetic when they really didn't see what the big deal was.

"She said something about needing to get out for awhile today," Jack offered, not sure if it would help calm her down or not.

It didn't. 

"She doesn't want to see me on *Valentine's Day*?!" Syd wailed, her voice increasing to a pitch that made Sky flinch back in pain as everyone else cringed.

"I'm sure that's not it," Omega offered, one hand on the side of his helmet as he tried to somehow muffle the sound ringing through its speakers.

"But it's *Valentine's Day*! It's supposed to be sappy and sweet and romantic! It's ... " She sniffled again, bowing her head as she tried to hide the tears that were starting to well in her eyes. She didn't mind letting the guys know she was upset and all, but crying ... That was something else. Something no one *ever* got the privilege of seeing her do.

She blinked a few more times, swallowing back the lump in her throat. It just didn't make sense. How could things with Z be so sweet and sympathetic one minute, and fighting like cats and dogs the next? Why did she keep bouncing back and forth between girlfriend and rival? Sure, Z was uncomfortable with getting too close sometimes, but it wasn't like she was asking to *marry* her or anything. She just wanted to spend some time with her girlfriend on Valentine's Day. Was that so wrong?

"Why do *I* get stuck with the girlfriend who hates romance?" she demanded.

"Uh ... Syd?"

"What?" she snapped, looking up at Bridge.

He pointed just behind her with a slight smile.

She turned, and stared in surprise.

In her left arm, Z carried a pink vase filled with yellow roses, the top of their petals brushed with pink. Double Delights, she remembered. A large pink bow with yellow trim had been carefully tied around the vase. Her right hand held a stuffed kitten in soft pink fur, with blue large eyes. "Happy Valentine's Day," she said softly.

Slowly, a smile grew on Syd's face.

Then she marched over and socked Z in the arm, receiving a raised eyebrow in response. "Meanie," she pouted. "Did you have to take so long?"

"Forgive me, Princess," Z mocked, bowing slightly. "I searched far and wide to shower you with the gifts you so richly deserve." With that, she shoved said gifts into Syd's arms with a scowl.

Syd humped indignantly, even as her gaze dropped down to her flowers. She smiled, leaning forward to inhale their scent. Pink and Yellow roses ... Combining their Colors definitely meant something different to a Ranger, and if that wasn't romance, then she didn't know what was.

"I'm taking these to my room," she announced, walking off without looking back. 

Something dropped on her head after a minute, and she looked up at the stuffed kitty. She smiled again, and couldn't resist the giggle that burst out. "It's so cute!" she cooed. Another surprisingly sweet gift; she had a tendency to curl up and cuddle into the nearest person's lap when she fell asleep, especially when there was sunlight involved, and Z had teasingly nicknamed her 'Kitten'.

"Glad you like it," Z's voice was casual, but the grin she shot at her was pleased.

The gifts found the nearest table as the door to their quarters closed behind them, while Syd's arms wound their way around Z's neck. "How can I ever thank you?" she purred, batting her eyelashes.

Z's grin widened. "I can think of a few ways," she murmured, lowering her lips to hers.


	8. Kai/Leo

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My otaku is showing.
> 
> Okay, really it's just that I've always loved the Japanese traditions of Valentine's Day and White Day, and I really wanted to use them here. Somehow Leo ended up being the best match to the topic. I have no idea why Leo, but I'm beginning to seriously wish I had better art skills after doing this series.
> 
> Also, scifislasher is the reason I remember that Kai is freakishly possessive of his kitchen.

The look of naked fear on Leo's face was almost funny.

Wearing *his* blue apron, shirt sleeves pushed up to his elbows, his hair tousled in a way that was messy even for Leo, and liberally smeared with various white and brown substances, he was absolutely adorable. That sight, coupled with his wide-eyed panic and the way he instantly began to babble excuses won him over an in instant. No matter what was going on, coming home to that after the lousy day he'd had would make him forgive Leo anything.

Even if he was standing in *his* kitchen.

"I didn't even use your kitchen, Kai, I *promise*. And I'll clean everything up in the girls' apartment, I swear! And - "

"Leo," he interrupted. It was always a good idea to cut him off before his rant got into full swing. EmotionalLeo was cute, but PassionatelyEmotionalLeo lead to things like weeks of not speaking to one another and Leo ending up in the Megaship's Medbay because he was an idiot with a martyr complex. "What are you doing?" 

If the frightened and dirty you-caught-me look hadn't gotten him, the sheepish and disheveled one would have. "I made you Valentine's Day chocolate. Well, technically they're chocolate truffles - do you know how hard it is to find a recipe for *just* chocolate, and not as an ingredient?"

"Yes," he answered absently, still trying to sort out the randomness of this conversation. At last he gave up; if he wasn't out trying to destroy evil, randomness seemed to be Leo's mode of choice. "Why are you making me Valentine's Day chocolate?"

"Because on Valentine's Day you make homemade chocolate for the person you love most, and get store-bought chocolate for friends," Leo explained patiently. "And you're my boyfriend, so I made you chocolate."

It took him a moment to process where this logic was coming from. When it did, he gave him a bemused look. "Leo, I'm not Japanese."

"Yeah. So? Neither am I."

He stared, and found himself presented with a piece of chocolate. "So, how is it?" Leo asked eagerly. He frowned. "It's not too horrible, is it?"

Kai shook himself out of his confusion, eyed the chocolate warily, and took a bite.

It wasn't Godiva chocolate to say the least. It was more then edible, but far from the best he'd ever had. But then again, he'd never dated anyone who made him chocolate on Valentine's before.

He glanced up to see Leo's hopeful expression. "Well?" the other boy asked, fidgeting.

He couldn't hold himself back any longer. "You tell me," he murmured, leaning in and snagging another chocolate off the counter. He plopped it into his mouth and pressed his lips to Leo's, who happily began to fight with him over which one of them got to keep it.

After several minutes he pulled back with a frown. "This doesn't mean I have to do something on White Day, does it?"

A slow smirk spread across Leo's face. He moved closer again, lips brushing along the side of Kai's mouth. "You've got chocolate on your face."

Chocolate always tasted better when it was Leo-flavored.


	9. Kai/Leo Part 2: Wake Up Call

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was originally posted on my LiveJournal as a one-shot sequel to the last chapter, but since I'm putting the whole story here, I decided to go ahead and stick it in as another chapter instead.

The first thing Leo woke up to was the smell of chocolate. Just as he decided there couldn't possibly be a better way to wake up, he opened his eyes to find Kai leaning down over him, smirking and waving a piece of chocolate under his nose. "Morning," Kai murmured, feeding the chocolate to him.

Okay, *now* he couldn't think of a better way to wake up.

He nibbled gently on Kai's fingers and was pleased to discover he was wrong again - Kai made him *fudge*. Fudge for breakfast, and a sexy-looking Kai practically in his bed. This had to be the best day ever.

He reached up to tug Kai closer to him, leaning up for a kiss. Kai responded in kind, and he found himself smiling even as he did his best to map out the inside of Kai's mouth in fudge. Fudge-flavored Kai ... yum.

Then Kai was pulling away, and Leo knew he had to be doing something wrong, because there was no way Kai should be coherent enough to even think about doing anything that wasn't him right now.

"What was that for?" Leo asked, yawning and blinking rapidly. Maybe if he looked sleepy and cute enough, Kai wouldn't leave after all. Kai had a thing for whenever he looked rumpled or boyish.

"You wanted White Day chocolate," Kai returned, looking amused.

This seemed to be expected to be its own explanation, and it took him a moment to work through his still-sleepy brain of what that was supposed to mean. When he did, he brightened. "You really did make me White Day chocolate?" Then he grinned, grabbing for Kai's shirt to pull him down again. "So ... how much fudge did you make?"

Kai leaned back from his hands, shaking his head. "Work," he reminded him.

"But it's White Day!" Leo protested. 

Kai shook his head. "It's Friday."

He pouted. "I want fudge-flavored Kai!"

Kai coughed, blushing slightly as he looked away. "You wanted White Day chocolate, and I gave it to you," he informed him. "And now I have to go to work. I'll see you later." He leaned in for a quick kiss, jerking back before Leo could grab on to him again. "Enjoy your fudge."

Leo sulked as he watched Kai leave. It was White Day, he had fudge - even better than that, he fudge from *Kai*, and here he was, sitting all alone while Kai went to work. How wrong was this?

He considered the plate of fudge left on the coffee table across the room, and slowly smiled. Well ... technically, White Day wasn't over until midnight. And Kai wouldn't be at work for the *whole* day ...

Bouncing to his feet, he grabbed another piece of fudge. He grinned, savoring the flavor as he pondered. Now. How to lay a trap for Kai when he got home?

He did still have to appropriately thank him for his fudge, after all.


	10. Tommy/Kimberly

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Because it just isn't a Valentine's Day series without Tommy and Kimberly - even if it's technically not Valentine's anymore. Hugs and kisses to Starlit Purple for finding me what Tommy told Kimberly to make her leave for Florida.

"So Valentine's Day has always been a really big deal for you before?" Andie asked curiously, cocking her head.

Kimberly nodded, smiling nostalgically. "Tommy always loved - loves, to spoil me. Love letters in my locker, giving me flowers left and right, fancy dinners, jewelry ... You name it, he got it for me. Once, he even completely re-did a school project for me because it got ruined."

"He sounds unbelievable." Andie gave her an amused look. "And let me guess, he was totally supportive of you moving to Florida, right?"

"You mean what he said, or what he meant?" she returned wryly. "He was completely understanding. Told me he didn't want to lose me, but he couldn't sit back and watch me give it up, because it wouldn't be fair. But he really didn't want me to go; I could tell. He's a lousy liar."

Her roommate raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure he's not gay?"

"Andie!"

"What? He's so perfect he's unbelievable. Guys that incredible seriously do not exist. Where did you find him, anyway?"

She sighed, the familiar irritation at having to constantly monitor what she said or thought resurfacing. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

Andie rolled her eyes and turned away, and she found herself staring out the window as she laid her chin on a hand. Tommy *was* incredible. So incredible that half the girls at the center thought she'd made him up so she wouldn't look pathetic without a boyfriend, while the others either thought she was too lucky for having someone like him, or just weird for being so attached to someone she hardly ever saw. Her coaches had been trying to convince her for months now that she was too young to have her heart set on one boy, especially when that boy was her first serious boyfriend.

She wondered if Tommy ever felt that way, trapped by their relationship when he could be off exploring the field and meeting new people. She knew he would never cheat on her; his high sense of honor demanded that he remain faithful. But did he feel lonely by himself, the way she did all the time? Did he want the chance to talk to another girl without wondering what she'd think? Did .... did he want to be his own person again?

Michelle, one of the girls from the dooms down the hall, poked her head through the doorway. "Kimberly?"

"Yeah?" she returned, glancing at her somewhat distantly.

"There's a ... package for you. And ... Well, you should see this."

She frowned. That didn't sound good. "What is it?" she asked, rising to her feet.

Michelle fidgeted, biting her lip. "You should come see," she repeated. She turned and paused, hesitating. "Hey ... Kimberly? I'm sorry about all the stuff I said about your boyfriend."

Kimberly gave her an odd look. "You've never said anything to me about Tommy."

Michelle coughed, looking away. "Not to your face," she muttered, abruptly making herself scarce.

Okay, now she was officially worried.

The rec room where all the girls from this floor of her dorm gathered was crowded when she reached it, but they hastily parted to let her through. Her nervous feeling increased, and she fingered her communicator's distress button with her free hand. "What's going on?" she asked warily.

Her eyes followed the silent gestures to the center of the room, and she gasped.

A package big enough to hold a large dog waited, and she knew it was for her in an instant. Covered in heart stickers, lipstick stamps, and pink marker doodles of flowers and happy faces, there was no doubt of who it was addressed to. She wondered if Zordon had been convinced to let him cheat and use the teleportation system just this once even as her eyes began to fill with tears; there was no way he could have afforded the shipping costs.

"Uh, oh," someone teased behind her. "Looks like Kimberly Water Works is open for business again. Everyone grab your umbrellas."

She ignored the laughter and brushed off the offer of tissues, choosing instead to kneel beside the box as she studied it. The girls here were still young and innocent, still believing in high school pranks and magazine quizzes. She'd outgrown them years ago.

"You want a hand?" Andie offered from her right. She surveyed the package skeptically. "Or six?"

"Thanks," she answered distantly, already moving to grab a corner.

It took three girls to get it to her room and deposit it beside her bed, mostly due to the size. Andie kicked out everyone and made herself scarce, leaving Kimberly to open her mail in private. She'd have to remember to thank her later.

Now she took the time to examine every detail of the box itself, all the doodles that she could instantly see had been a result of Aisha and Rocky somehow getting hold of it. They were probably the source of the lipstick marks too, although when she stopped to wonder which one was more likely to have done it, she couldn't really be sure. The lid opened to reveal that the inside of each cardboard leaf had been autographed by the team in their appropriate Colors, with messages of love, encouragement, and well-wishes. She was already in tears by the time she began to dig though the packing peanuts.

Red roses made from feathers, a delicate porcelain figurine of a dainty bird in flight. There were chocolates of course, and more than enough to share - she did have to watch her weight after all. A small pink teddy bear with a red bow around its neck to match the white one he'd given her while she was in the hospital. And for some reason towards the bottom, a white lace tablecloth, white candles, a cigarette lighter - okay now she *knew* Zordon had been bribed - and a cheese mini-pizza Lunchable in a small cooler. A post-it note had been taped to the Lunchable with a simple message in Tommy's handwriting.

_8:00pm your time. Set up dinner and call me._

Getting through the day was a struggle enough just for the sake of her own curiosity, let alone all the questions she'd been getting from the other girls. It was more than a bit of a relief to sneak down to the laundry room - No Laundry after 8:00pm - at the end of the day. Her hands were shaking as she spread out the tablecloth on the floor and set up the candles, sniffling every once in awhile.

At precisely 8:00 she wiped her eyes, checked the halls, barricaded the door, and activated her communicator. "Tommy?"

The response was instant. _"Happy Valentine's Day, Beautiful."_

Tears welled up again as a warm feeling spread all the way to her toes, and this time she didn't bother trying to wipe them away. "Happy Valentine's Day, Handsome," she whispered back.


	11. Sky/Jack

"Romance stinks." 

" ... Yeah."

Jack glanced at Sky again, who was still staring vacantly at nothing. His eyes seemed dull, and his left thumb kept rubbing his right wrist. Just what they needed; a depressed and apathetic Sky.

Just what *he* needed, after Syd had ever-so-helpfully informed him that if he didn't cheer up Sky on Valentine's Day, she'd shave his head and replace all his clothes with sexy red dresses and matching high-heels. And then Bridge, *Bridge* of all people, had offered to help - a conversation that had quickly degenerated into some sort of debate about tendon strain. He knew the three of them were close after being on the same squad and all, but he'd expected to be *giving* the Threatening Big Brother Speech, not receiving it.

And it would help if someone would explain to him *why* Valentine's Day was making Sky depressed. All he'd been doing so far this morning was sitting in the common room, rubbing his wrist and staring into space. What was up with that, anyway? His right wrist was just where he'd had ... oh.

Jack frowned. Sky was depressed on Valentine's Day over an alien friendship bracelet?

Then again, Sky did take his relationships very seriously. Like, freakishly so. If Sky cared about someone he didn't just have their back; he'd walk through fire, fight demons, pick a thousand roses to see them smile, or whatever. All that romantic junk.

"Jack."

He jerked in surprise, turning to look at Sky. "Yeah?"

Sky was still staring at that same spot on the wall and holding his wrist. "It's not a friendship bracelet."

"Huh?"

"It's not. A friendship bracelet," Sky repeated clearly.

Jack frowned, shifting uncomfortably. "How did you know what I was thinking about?"

"You've been staring at my wrist for the last twenty minutes and scowling. And it's not a friendship bracelet."

He scowled. "That's what you said it was before."

"That's because before I didn't know how you felt about homosexuals, let alone that you were interested in me." Sky took a deep breath, and for a second he could have sworn he almost looked teary-eyed. "It means that I arrested my ex-husband."

Jack blinked.

Then he finally processed what Sky meant, and leapt up off the couch he'd been sitting on with a furious glare. "You're married?!"

"Was," Sky corrected. "I figure shattering the bracelet was sort of the equivalent of filing for a divorce; usually you just ask for it back."

"And you couldn't remember to tell me this sometime around the first time I kissed you?!"

Sky shrugged slightly. "I wasn't exactly complaining then," he reminded him absently.

Jack gaped struggling for words. "You were - " He cut himself off, forcing several deep breaths in an effort to calm down. Fighting about his marriage status was not going to cheer up Sky and save his hair. The breath strategy didn't work, so he stopped to take several more.

When he was finally able to look at Sky again without the urge to strangle him, he found the other watching at him with a faint, amused smile.

Jack raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"Just you being you, Jack." 

Sky stood, moving close before he had a chance to blink and catching his arm to prevent the instinctive step back. His eyes were suddenly very blue, and very warm, and the smile didn't fade even as he leaned in and kissed him softly.

Almost immediately, Jack fought him. Kissing was good. Soft kisses meant romance, and they had already agreed that romance stunk. Instead he nipped at his lips, demanding entrance for his tongue, and proceeded to map out the inside of Sky's mouth long enough to make Sky surrender to the need for air first.

Sky was still smiling at him when he opened his eyes and tried to make the gasps for oxygen as subtle as possible. He blinked, and jumped slightly as a hand reached up to cup his cheek, the thumb tenderly stroking his skin. Sky's right thumb, he noted distantly, eyeing it suspiciously as he waited for Sky to spout some sort of mushy romantic junk.

"You want to get a burger?"

He blinked again. "Sure."

Sky smiled in that way that finally reached his eyes, crinkling the skin around them in what would eventually make future wrinkles. His smile was dorky, too. He had a tendency to show way too much teeth, like he was trying to bear his fangs or something.

Ah, well. At least his hair was safe. And his wardrobe.


	12. Sky/Bridge

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love writing Bridge.

"Chinese food?"

Sky glanced up at Syd's incredulous, almost insulted stare.

"It's Valentine's Day, and you're giving him *Chinese food*?" she continued, scandalized.

"Bridge likes random," he reminded her, returning to adjusting the antique Lava Lamp and making sure that it would work. Stupid early twenty-first century light bulbs - practically worthless.

"Oh." He could almost hear her blinking. "Good point." She paused again, then patted him on the shoulder. "Keep up the good work."

He rolled his eyes and moved on to filling the paper cups. The boxes of Chinese food were carefully arranged around the table, with a pair of chopsticks at each setting. He hoped he had the right blueprint; Bridge had a lot of projects these days. In the center of the coffee table he'd confiscated for all this he placed the ugliest, foulest smelling flower he'd ever seen, along with a spray bottle of vinegar and a pair of gardening shears. After a moment of digging through his pockets, he removed a small ring box, opened it to reveal the silver bolts he'd strung on a bead chain, and arranged it in the center of the place he'd set for his boyfriend.

"Checklist ... " he muttered to himself.

_\--"Candlelight dinners are so weird, you know? And so cliché - it's always the same setup. If I ever had a candlelight dinner, I'd want something different. Like instead of a fancy, private table for two, I'd get the most standardized, plain coffee table I could find, put it in any old place, and sit on the floor."--_

Standard S.P.D. coffee table in the middle of the common room: check.

_\--"And instead of a lacy tablecloth I'd use a blueprint so if we ran out of things to talk about, we could always look down at the table, see the blueprint, and talk about work instead. Or if they don't work in the same department, I could always explain what it meant."--_

Enlarged and laminated blueprint taken from Bridge's lab: check.

_\--"For dinner I'd go for Chinese, 'cause I like Chinese. Not some fancy frou-frou pasta that I can't pronounce the name of. I mean, it you can't say its name, why are you eating it?"--_

Chinese food for two: check.

_\--"But I wouldn't get any fancy plates or anything; that would be wasteful. We could just eat straight out of the box. Oh, and chopsticks instead of silverware, because you should *always* eat Chinese food with chopsticks, it's part of the experience. That should be a law or something: Article 417368 of the S.P.D. Galactic Code states that chopsticks are now the required eating utensil when consuming Chinese food."--_

Chinese food not removed from the take out box and two sets of wooden chopsticks to eat with: check and check.

_\--"Instead of wine, I'd have lemon-lime soda, because it's green and bubbly, which is always good. And in paper cups, so we could recycle, because recycling is important. Drinking out of a glass is just asking for trouble, don't you think? A mean, if you drop the glass not only to you spill your soda everywhere, but now you have all these little glass pieces to pick up, and what if you cut yourself? That'd ruin the whole dinner, especially if you had to go to the Medical Wing."--_

Lemon-lime soda in organic paper cups: check.

_\--"Ooh, and then a lamp instead of candles, 'cause what if you knock a candle over and the whole table lights on fire, like 'Bwoosh...'? That'd be even worse then cutting yourself. Well, maybe. Fire is bad, but blood is icky. And sort of necessary for proper bodily function._

_"But the lamp should something really cool, like a lava lamp. So when the blue prints get boring, you can always space out staring at all that nifty liquid stuff moving around. I love lava lamps; I wish they weren't so hard to find. I've always wanted one."--_

Traditional, non-simulated Lava Lamp: check.

_\--"I'm not much all that into flowers anymore, at least not since the whole Hydrax incident. Although that might be fun: get a plant from Fernovia, and then like, prune all its leaves off and make it look really bad. Exorcising demons, you know? It'd be great therapy. And what a fun group activity!"--_

Fernovian Wedding Flower, garden shears, and vinegar (The best carefully researched weed killer for Fernovian plants): check, check, and check.

_\--"For mood music, I'd want something happy and perky that you can barely understand the lyrics of. That way you can appreciate the music more. And happy music is always good. Love songs are always so sad. And with happy music, you can have a dance contest!"--_

Japanese pop music programmed into the stereo: check.

_\--"But if I was gonna give jewelry, I'd give a necklace, so you don't have to worry about loosing it or getting it snagged on something since you can hide it under your shirt. Probably one of those chains we use for military tags - did you know they used to call them dog tags? They probably stopped around time Cruger joined S.P.D.; I don't think that's exactly politically correct. Or galactically correct. But I wouldn't put a ring on it, 'cause what if you lose it? Then you'd be sad, and the person who gave it to you would be sad, which would make you sad all over again. Maybe ... a bolt or a washer. Something useful. That way if I was ever in a jam and needed to fix something right away, hey, I'd already have parts hanging around my neck. And then I could always look at the thing I fixed and remember that my special person helped me save the day. But, I want it to mean something, too. I mean, that's why you give jewelry, isn't it?"--_

Nine silver bolts he'd strung on a bead chain to represent each member of the S.P.D. Rangers - and Boom: check and check.

Sky took a deep breath. Everything was ready and in place. Now he just needed -

There was a gasp from the doorway, and he turned to look.

Bridge surveyed the setup with a stunned look that slowly dissolved into a warm, happy smile. His eyes sparkled with tears even as they lit up his face, and he raced forward to fling himself into Sky's arms. He squeezed tight, pulling back just enough for a passionate, loving kiss.

Sky leaned his forehead against his boyfriend's when they finally broke apart again, smiling with just a hint of smugness. "Told you I listen to you."


	13. Antonio/Jayden

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise! There's a reason this story is listed as incomplete! While my inspiration for it waned, I still have all the requested pairings from when I first posted it. Hopefully someday I will actually write them. x.x
> 
> In the meantime, this came to me out of the blue a couple days ago while I was waiting for my ride home from work. I hope you like it!
> 
> (Yes, it is totally my headcanon that this happened.)

The very first one arrived ten months after Antonio moved away.

He had hundreds of letters by then; Antonio mailed at least one a week. He had no idea if Ji knew about them or not. He didn't think so, because the Kuroko delivered them to him directly, and he was sure Ji would have used them to hunt down Octo and take him back if he *did* know. So he kept them safely hidden in a box in his room, taking them out only late at night after he was supposed to be asleep and reading under his blankets with a flashlight.

His greatest fear was that Ji would take them away and stop Antonio from writing. He knew Ji didn't like the way Antonio always got him into trouble, and he'd been very angry when he gave Octo away. But without the letters, he wouldn't be able to remind himself that Antonio was real. That he wasn't someone he'd made up in his head because he was lonely. That Antonio missed him, too. That he was important enough for someone to miss. (Ji didn't count - he was *Ji*.)

That Antonio hadn't forgotten what he promised.

The letters taught him things, too. There was never anything personal - they were both too careful for that, because they could never be sure if someone else was reading them - but they were full of stories and descriptions about places Antonio had been or things he'd seen. Sometimes he talked about a new style of fighting he was learning, and tried to describe the different forms for Jayden to try. He wanted to, but he was always afraid that Ji would see him and catch on.

The language lessons started after Antonio wrote about trying to read Japanese, and asked him to translate some. He'd been terrified the first time he sent a reply, afraid that Ji would know. Instead, his next letter was even more excited and came with some basic phrases in Spanish. He only replied once a month, twice if Ji seemed busier than usual, but Antonio never seemed to mind.

So he expected the letters. But when a piece of cardboard covered in red and pink hearts asked him to 'be my Valentine', he had no idea what to do. He couldn't go to Ji, and there wasn't really anyone else he could talk to who might know. The Archives were no help at all. He managed to find a dictionary, which gave him a vague answer, but only helped a little.

In the end, he finally gave in and wrote Antonio back to ask.

The response was just as happy as it always was, and didn't make him feel like an idiot. (Antonio had always been good at that.) He explained that Valentine's Day was about telling people you love them, and asking the person you love most to be your Valentine. And since Jayden was his bestest best friend forever, he asked him.

He stared at the letter for the longest time.

When he finally wrote back, all it said was _'Yes.'_

****

Thirteen years and thousands more letters than he could count later, Jayden still smiled when he opened a letter to find a tiny, pre-printed card carefully folded inside. There had been one every year, always the same kind, sometimes silly, sometimes sweet, but they always arrived without fail, just in time for Valentine's Day.

This year it was a brown kitten with a big red bow around its neck against a pale pink background. There were two red hearts above the kitten's head, and the text read 'I think you're purrrfect!' Antonio had taken special care to write 'To Jayden' in red ink, crossing out the word 'From' and writing 'Your Bestest Best Friend, Antonio' in sparkling gold.

He traced the words for a moment. Maybe, someday when the Nighlock were defeated and he was no longer needed, he could search for Antonio. He tried to imagine a world without Nighlock, a world where he could just be with his most important person and be happy. He tried to picture what Antonio would look like now.

Eventually he gave up with a sigh, shaking his head as he carefully put both the letter and valentine away with the rest. He couldn't afford to loose his focus now. The other Rangers were counting on him. The world was counting on him.

Even so, he still took the time to write his reply.

_'Yes.'_

_Someday_ , he thought wistfully.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jayden's valentine can be found [here](http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-c6Ip17n7CYU/TvltC_iZk7I/AAAAAAAACN8/bjZO3IQ0_9M/s1600/0109b-Valentine-Cards.jpg). It's the one in the top right corner.


End file.
